Tomasz Skrzyński

Most of the proposals for reforms at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, submitted in 1945–1950, concerned the adaptation of the Academy to further specialization in the world of science. Discussed in the article, the previously unknown, initiative of the eminent philosopher Roman Ingarden was of a different nature. The institute, he was designing, was to be the center of permanent scientific cooperation between scientists from natural and humanities sciences.

Using the archive sources and publications, the circumstances of this idea creation were also discussed. The reasons why this initiative was not implemented were also described.

Ingarden believed that research conducted as part of the Institute’s experimental labs should cover basic practical issues both for entire communities and individual people. They were to concern, i.a. the nature of man, his role in the world; separateness and kinship to other living beings. The philosopher also proposed testing new research methods at the Institute and training numerous scientists in their application.

In practice, the idea of establishing the Institute of Human Sciences of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences was contrary to the policy of the state authorities at that time.

An important element in the process of absorption of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) by the communists in 1948 was a money collection for the construction of the building which was to house the future joint authorities of the “united party.” The goal of the action was to break the resistance of the socialists against drawing them into the ranks of the communist party. The authorities of the Polish Workers’ Party divided the campaign into declaring future contributions and subsequently the actual collection. Special plenipotentiaries had been appointed at all the organizational levels who were to realize the orders of the communists. The latter forced the members of both parties to declare the highest possible contributions and then executed their payment. In spite of the gradual intensification of pressure, the Cracow communists had failed to force the Socialists to terminate the action within a top-down designated time and to pay the declared sums of money. The above campaign was terminated only in the middle of 1949.